This week, information was released showing many members of the Dallas City Council have committed apparent violations of the city’s campaign finance laws.

Some councilmembers have said the violations are due to errors in reporting made in good faith.

In addition to receiving contributions from minors, many received contributions over the city-imposed limits. Currently, no body or office is responsible for oversight of campaign finance reporting in Dallas.

To further the problem, the city disagrees about whether the ethics panel could investigate campaign finance violation complaints, or whether the responsibility would fall on the city secretary.

The city has asked the Texas Ethics Commission to intervene, but the state commission has declined to get involved.

Currently, Dallas has a $1,000 individual contribution limit per election cycle for City Council races and a $5,000 individual cap on mayoral races.

The Colorado secretary of state adopted new campaign finance rules today in response to a federal court ruling issued last week.

Judge Raymond Moore struck down provisions of state law allowing private citizens to file complaints. Until the ruling, all complaints received a hearing without review for merit.

New enforcement mechanisms provide for initial review of complaints and an opportunity to cure violations prior to investigation and enforcement.

Substantive requirements of state campaign finance law were not affected.

Pictured: Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams